Former Arizona state Sen. Debbie Lesko, a Republican, is running for the 8th Congressional District seat left open when Rep. Trent Franks resigned. Her campaign turned in 3,086 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline. Cheryl Evans/The Republic

Candidates in Arizona's 8th Congressional District race

Former Arizona state Sen. Debbie Lesko, a Republican, is running for the 8th Congressional District seat left open when Rep. Trent Franks resigned. Her campaign turned in 3,086 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline.
Cheryl Evans/The Republic

Former state Rep. Phil Lovas, a Republican, is running for Congress in the 8th District. His campaign turned in 1,225 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline. David Kadlubowski/The Republic

Candidates in Arizona's 8th Congressional District race

Former state Rep. Phil Lovas, a Republican, is running for Congress in the 8th District. His campaign turned in 1,225 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline.
David Kadlubowski/The Republic

Former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack, a Republican, is running for Congress in Arizona's 8th District. His campaign turned in 2,209 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline. Facebook

Candidates in Arizona's 8th Congressional District race

Former Graham County Sheriff Richard Mack, a Republican, is running for Congress in Arizona's 8th District. His campaign turned in 2,209 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline.
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Candidates in Arizona's 8th Congressional District race

Republican Bob Stump,a former member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, is running for Congress in the 8th District. His campaign turned in 1,414 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline. He is not related to the Bob Stump who once represented the West Valley decades ago. David Wallace/The Republic

Candidates in Arizona's 8th Congressional District race

Republican Bob Stump,a former member of the Arizona Corporation Commission, is running for Congress in the 8th District. His campaign turned in 1,414 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline. He is not related to the Bob Stump who once represented the West Valley decades ago.
David Wallace/The Republic

Former state Sen. Steve Montengro, a Republican, is running in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. His campaigned turned in 1,225 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline. Mark Henle/The Republic

Candidates in Arizona's 8th Congressional District race

Former state Sen. Steve Montengro, a Republican, is running in Arizona's 8th Congressional District. His campaigned turned in 1,225 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline.
Mark Henle/The Republic

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Candidates in Arizona's 8th Congressional District race

Former Arizona state Sen. Debbie Lesko, a Republican, is running for the 8th Congressional District seat left open when Rep. Trent Franks resigned. Her campaign turned in 3,086 signatures by the Jan. 10, 2018, deadline.

West Valley voters will settle on Republican and Democratic nominees to fill a vacant congressional seat on Tuesday. Here's what to look for as the 8th District votes are tallied.

1. Polls close at 7 p.m.

The race began in early December after Trent Franks resigned midway through his eighth term in Congress. It has been an eventful sprint to the primary election, which ends Tuesday night when the polls close at 7 p.m.

In that race he faces former state Sen. Debbie Lesko, former state Rep. Phil Lovas, former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Bob Stump and former Graham County sheriff Richard Mack, as well as Clair Van Steenwyk, Chad Allen, Kevin Cavanaugh, Brenden Dilley, Stephen Dolgos, David Lien, Christopher Sylvester and Mark Yates.

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Hiral Tipirneni, a physician (left) and Brianna Westbrook, a political activist, during a Democratic debate to fill the vacant seat of U.S. Rep. Trent Franks at The Arizona Republic newsroom in Phoenix on Jan. 25, 2018. Arizona Republic political reporter Ron Hansen (right) moderates the debate. David Wallace/The Republic

Hiral Tipirneni, a physician (left) and Brianna Westbrook, a political activist, during a Democratic debate to fill the vacant seat of U.S. Rep. Trent Franks at The Arizona Republic newsroom in Phoenix on Jan. 25, 2018. David Wallace/The Republic

Brianna Westbrook, a political activist, during a Democratic debate to fill the vacant seat of U.S. Rep. Trent Franks at The Arizona Republic newsroom in Phoenix on Jan. 25, 2018. David Wallace/The Republic

Voters have tuned into the race more than expected, but it's mainly because of Democrats. Through Thursday, there were 63,000 ballots cast in the Republican primary and 33,000 for the Democrats. Those numbers will go higher as ballots are cast on Tuesday.

That translates to 30 percent turnout so far for Democrats and just under 34 percent for Republicans.

This is a contrast with the last time the West Valley had a race for an open seat, in 2002. That primary, held in September, along with all other primaries that year, drew 20 percent turnout from Democrats and the same 34 percent for Republicans. The district had different boundaries then, but still largely rested in the West Valley.

The Democratic interest is especially noteworthy considering the party didn't field a candidate in 2014 and 2016.

Former Arizona Corporation Commissioner Bob Stump during a Republican debate to fill the vacant seat of U.S. Rep. Trent Franks at The Arizona Republic newsroom in Phoenix on Jan. 24, 2018. David Wallace/The Republic

There may also be more interest in gun-control legislation. A national Marist Poll taken last week on gun policy attitudes found that among those 60 and over, 79 percent said they thought laws on gun sales should be more strict. Only 1 percent wanted gun sales to be less restrictive.

Narrow majorities of those who identified themselves as Republicans favored stricter laws. Respondents in the Northeast were especially inclined to support stricter laws, but there was lopsided support in the South, West and Midwest as well.

Similarly, men support tighter controls and women really support it. Suburban voters clocked in at 81 percent to 1 percent.

Taken as a whole, it suggests that reflexive support for gun rights could be softer in the district than in years past and the issue of gun policy could be a factor moving into the special general election in April.

CLOSE

The Republic's politics team talks about Gov. Doug Ducey's special session on opioids, the 8th Congressional District debates and an effort to create an observance day in Arizona for Native Americans on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018. Carly Henry/azcentral

5. Peoria is the place

As of Thursday, about two-thirds of the votes cast in the Republican primary came from the Peoria-based legislative districts were former state Sen. Debbie Lesko and former state Rep. Phil Lovas reside.

That doesn't mean those voters supported Lesko and Lovas, but it does suggest the outcome of the GOP primary will be heavily influenced by people who have voted for them in the past.

By contrast, only 9 percent of the Republican ballots had come from Montenegro's district as of last week.

Ultimately, the 8th District is relatively compact and suburban. There aren't significant differences between the issues central to a voter in Goodyear and someone in Anthem or Peoria.